For those left scratching their heads, here are some further things to ponder. David Oyelowo, who earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma was not nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. He was beat out by Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper (who wasn't even nominated for Golden Globe), Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne. Five white men.

Though Selma was nominated for Best Picture, an inevitability thanks to the category allowing five to 10 nominations, it wasn't nominated for best screenplay. The lack of nominations doesn't bode well for a Best Picture win — the only film in history to take home the top prize without a director or acting nomination was the 1932 film Grand Hotel.

Though Selma could possibly make history in that respect, it's doubtful. The Academy already missed its chance once.

The surprising dearth of nominations for minorities — this will be the whitest group since 1998 — comes after a banner year in 2014 for black actors and directors. The Steve McQueen-directed 12 Years a Slave took home three awards, for Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o), Best Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley) and Best Picture. Furthermore, lead actor Chiwetel Ejiofor was at least nominated for Best Actor.

Lupita Nyong'o holding her Oscar at the 2014 Academy Awards.

Image: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Associated Press

Historically, black directors don't fare well at the Oscars. Only three black men have ever been nominated in the best director category: John Singleton for Boyz n the Hood (1991), Lee Daniels for Precious (2009) and Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave just last year. None of them won. No black person has ever won a Best Director Oscar.

This year marks the Academy's 87th award show. Is it really believable that in 87 shows, not one black person has been deserving of a Best Director win? Of course not.

To be fair, it's not as though black people were able to direct award-worthy films back in 1929, when the first Academy Awards took place. What with all the rampant racism in the country at the time, it wasn't easy for black people to break into Hollywood. However, that's inexcusable in today's film landscape. There's a wealth of award-worthy black directors whose work is deserving of recognition.

Nominating DuVernay could have been an incredible, two-fold win on its own. Though she should not be nominated just for the sake of it, it's fair to say DuVernay has earned her place. She directed one of the most talked-about films of the year and has been nominated at every turn — except where it counts. She would have also only been the fifth woman in history to grab a Best Director nom (only one has won — Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 for Hurt Locker).

Last year, 43.1 million people watched the Oscars. What will all those people see this year? An awards ceremony that shunned one of its brightest new stars.

Ava DuVernay at the 2015 Golden Globes, where she was nominated for Best Director.

Image: ordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Associated Press

This year's nominations send a brutal message: Academy voters do not appear to care about diversity. This year's nominations refuse to highlight actors and directors who deliver excellent work in an industry that repeatedly shuts them out. Voting members of the Academy are 93% white, and 76% male, according to the Los Angeles Times.

What's worse is this comes at a time when Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Academy's president (who is a black woman) has been openly pushing for more diversity.

“We’re in the second decade of the 21st century, and it’s a whole new environment for entertainment,” Boone Isaacs told Variety. “I think part of this is a recognition that there are different voices that need to be heard — and that there are audiences for these different voices. We at the Academy want to be a place where these voices can be recognized.”

Despite Boone Isaacs' best efforts, those voices aren't going to be recognized this year. And that's a damn shame.

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